C. Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the fourth and newest nonpartisan Congressional support agency, was created by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to provide budget estimates and supporting economic analysis. A primary charge of CBO is to support the work of the two other Congressional institutions created by the 1974 Act, the Committees on the Budget in the Senate and the House of Representatives. CBO also provides estimates and budget-related research for other committees of the Congress. At the beginning of each session, CBO prepares for the Congress a macroeconomic forecast of the U.S. economy and projections of Federal budget outlays and revenues under current policies. The forecast and projections include the budget year and four subsequent years. The budget projections provide the groundwork for Congressional action on the Budget Resolution. The Budget Resolution is the yardstick against which legislative changes in taxes and spending programs are measured. CBO is required by law to estimate the 5-year cost of legislation reported by all authorizing committees of the Congress and to compare the budget effects of legislative spending and tax actions to Budget Resolution targets for total outlays and revenues. CBO must also submit to the Congress and the Office of Management and Budget advisory reports estimating whether budget deficit and discretionary spending targets have been met and whether the payas-you-go deficit-neutrality rule for legislative changes in taxes and direct spending has been honored. The latter rules were established in the amendments to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1987 contained in the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. Much of CBO's mandate is carried out in three annual reports analyzing Congressional and Administration taxing and spending policies. These reports are an economic and budget outlook, an analysis of the Administration's budget proposal, and a compilation of expenditure and tax policy changes that would contribute to reducing the Federal budget deficit. These and other published CBO reports are distributed to all Members of Congress. The Tax Analysis Division, one of CBO's seven divisions, has responsibility for revenue baseline projections and supporting revenue estimation and tax-related research. A partial list of reports and memoranda written by members of the Tax Analysis Division follows. The Shortfall in Corporate Tax Receipts since the Tax Reform Act of 1986, May 1992. The Cost-Effectiveness of the Low-Income Housing Credit Compared with Housing Vouchers, April 1992. Measuring the Distribution of Income Gains, March 1992. Effects of Adopting a Value-Added Tax, February 1992. Capital Gains Taxes in the Short Run, August 1991. Effects of Lower Capital Gains Taxes on Economic Growth, August 1990.. Indexing Capital Gains, August 1990. Federal Taxation of Tobacco, Alcoholic Beverages, and Motor Fuel, August 1990. How Capital Gains Tax Rates Affect Revenues: The Historical Evidence, March 1988. The Effects of Tax Reform on Tax Expenditures, March 1988. The Changing Distribution of Federal Taxes: 1975-1990, October 1987. Tax Policy for Pensions and Other Retirement Saving, April 1987. A complete list of reports and memoranda on tax-related subjects can be obtained by calling the Tax Analysis Division at (202) 226– 2680. A complete list of published CBO reports on all subjects can be obtained by calling CBO Publications Services at (202) 226–2809 or writing to: Congressional Budget Office More information about the history and responsibilities of the Congressional Budget Office can be found in the following CBO publications: Responsibilities and Organization of the Congressional Budget Office, Winter 1993. A Profile of the Congressional Budget Office, September 1990. Section 2. Reports and Studies REPORTS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY The Congress has mandated that the Department of Treasury and other executive branch agencies study topics of importance to legislative policymaking and report back to the Congress and, where appropriate, to the Committee on Ways and Means. During the 102d Congress, the committee received 79 required reports and studies covering topics in its areas of jurisdiction. These reports are listed in the Legislative Calendar of the Committee on Ways and Means, 102d Congress on pp. 37-57. In addition to the required reports, the following major Treasury studies provide useful information about the tax system and ways in which it might be reformed: Integration of the Individual and Corporate Tax Systems. Taxing Business Income Once-Report of the Department of the Treasury (January 1992). This report is a comprehensive study of the issues presented by integration of the corporate and individual income tax systems. It addresses fundamental questions concerning how the corporate income tax might be restructured to reduce tax distortions of financial and economic decisions and to increase the efficiency of the income tax. The report examines in detail several prototypes of an integrated tax world and assesses the effects of each prototype. It contains no legislative recommendations. Tax Reform for Fairness, Simplicity, and Economic Growth-The Treasury Department Report to the President, Office of the Secretary, Department of the Treasury, 3 volumes (November 1984). Volume 1 of the study discusses the need for tax reform in 1984, surveys various options, and proposes a modified flat tax. It discusses comprehensively, in the context of needed reforms, the taxation of individuals and families, the taxation of capital and business income, and various industry-specific subsidies. It also discusses the relative advantages and disadvantages of a consumption tax and a value-added tax. Volume 2 of the study provides additional information concerning the scope and operative effect of its proposals. It describes then-current law for numerous specific issues, gives reasons for change, details its proposals, and analyzes the probable effect of each proposal. Volume 3 is devoted to the value-added tax. It describes and evaluates the value-added tax from an economic and administrative perspective. The President's 1978 Tax Program-Detailed Descriptions and Supporting Analyses of the Proposals. Department of the Treasury (January 30, 1978). The study presents a set of proposals to stimulate the economy through reduced rates and to make the tax system more equitable and simple. Because many of the proposals in this study have already been adopted or overtaken by subsequent developments in the law, they may be largely of historical interest, although the more general policy goals discussed are still current. Blueprints for Basic Tax Reform, Department of the Treasury (January 17, 1977) (in 1982, a revision of this study was published commercially by Mr. David H. Bradford, who as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy (Tax Analysis) directed the work on the original 1977 study). This study presents two specific model tax systems: (1) a reformed comprehensive income tax that would, among other things, eliminate the separate corporate income tax; and (2) a cash-flow tax based on consumption. The study analyzes the relative merits of the two models and contains quantitative analyses. RECENT JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION PAMPHLETS ON TAX ISSUES Following is a list of some recent pamphlets prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation. These pamphlets provide useful background information on various issues that have come before the Committee on Ways and Means for hearings, as well as descriptions and analyses of particular proposals that may have been under consideration. If the pamphlets remain in print, copies may be obtained by calling (202) 225-2647. Certain additional 1993 pamphlets are reprinted as part of this document (e.g., JCS-5-93: Schedule of Present Excise Taxes (as of January 1, 1993) is reprinted in section 5 of Part IV). JCS-92 DOCUMENTS (GPO-PRINTED PAMPHLETS) JCS-1-92 Derivations of Code Sections of the Internal Revenue Codes of 1939 and 1954 (January 21, 1992). JCS-2-92 Description and Analysis of Tax Provisions Expiring in 1992 Scheduled for Hearings Before the House Committee on Ways and Means on January 28-29 and February 26, 1992 (January 27, 1992). JCS-3-92 Summary of Revenue Proposals in the President's Fiscal Year 1993 Budget (February 6, 1992). JCS-4-92 Never released. JCS-5-92 Summary of H.R. 4287: Tax Fairness and Economic Growth Act of 1992 (February 21, 1992). JCS-6-92 Comparison of Revenue-Related Provisions of H.R. 4210 as Passed by the House and the Senate (March 17, 1992). JCS-7-92 Schedule of Present Federal Excise Taxes (As of January 1, 1992) (March 27, 1992). JCS-8-92 Estimates of Federal Tax Expenditures for Fiscal Years 1993-1997 (April 24, 1992). JCS-9-92 Present Law and Proposals Relating to the Federal Income Tax Treatment of the Cost of Acquiring Good will and Certain Other Intangibles Scheduled for a Hearing Before the Senate Committee on Finance on April 28, 1992 (April 27, 1992). JCS-10-92 Description of Miscellaneous Far Tax Proposals (S.710, S.887, S.900, S. 1045, S. 1061, S.1130, and S.2202) Scheduled for a Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Energy and Agri cultural Taxation of the Senate Committee on Finance on April 29, 1992 (April 27, 1992). JCS-11-92 Explanation of H.R. 5270 (Foreign Income Tax Rationalization and Simplification Act of 1992) Scheduled for Hearings Before the Committee on Ways and Means on July 2122, 1992 (May 29, 1992). JCS-12-92 Proposals and Issues Relating to Tax Incentives for Enterprise Zones Scheduled for a Hearing Before the Senate Committee on Finance on June 3, 1992 (June 2, 1992). JCS-13-92 Comparison of the Tax Systems of the United, the United Kingdom, German, and Japan Scheduled for a Hearing Before the Senate Committee on Finance on July 21, 1992 (July 20, 1992). JCS-14-92 Discussion of Revenue Estimation Methodology and Process (August 13, 1992). JCS-15-92 Proposals and Issues Relating to the Financial Condition of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Scheduled for a Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Private Retirement Plans and Oversight of the Internal Revenue Service of the Senate Committee on Finance on September 25, 1992 (September 24, 1992). JCS-16-92 Comparison of Revenue-Related Provisions of H.R. 11 (Revenue Act of 1992) as Passed the House and the Senate (October 1, 1992). JCX-92 DOCUMENTS (JOINT COMMITTEE PHOTOCOPY DOCUMENTS) JCX-1-92 Summary of Revenue Proposals in the President's Fiscal Year 1993 Budget (February 3, 1992). JCX-2-92 Tax Aspects of Government-Assisted Acquisitions of Savings and Loan Associations (H.R. 1135, H.R. 1326, H.R. 1338 and H.R. 561) Scheduled for a Hearing Before the House Committee on Ways and Means on February 11, 1992 (February 7, 1992). JCX-3-92 Committee on Ways and Means Mark-Up of H.R. 939 (Veterans' Housing Amendments of 1991) on February 12, 1992 (February 10, 1992). JCX-4-92 Description of the President's Tax Proposals Included in the Fiscal Year 1993 Budget and as Introduced in H.R. 4210 Scheduled for Markup by the House Committee on Ways and Means on February 12, 1992 (February 11, 1992). JCX-5-92 Description of S.1364 (Employee Benefits Simplification and Expansion Act of 1991) and Proposed Modifications Scheduled for Markup by the Senate Committee on Finance on March 3, 1992 (March 3, 1992). JCX-6-92 Description of Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2 Provisions Scheduled for Markup by the Senate Committee on Finance on March 3, 1992 (March 3, 1992). JCX-7-92 Description of Chairman's Mark: Tax Proposals Relating to Working Families, Long-Term Economic Growth, and Tax Fairness Scheduled for Markup by the Senate Committee on Finance on March 3, 1992 (March 3, 1992). |